Cheltenham v. Carlisle, 19.8.14

19 August 2014

Full Time: Robins 0, Carlisle 0

Cheltenham Town played out a hard fought 0-0 draw here tonight with Carlisle picking up their first point of the season.
A tame first half saw Carlisle edge proceedings and whilst the second promised a lot more in front of goal it simply did not come. Trevor Carson made a fine save midway through the half to deny Marriott and Carlisle were denied by the linesman in the final minute to confirm a draw.
Another away game up next for the Robins as they head back up North to face Tranmere Rovers.
Mark Yates named an unchanged side for this fixture following two wins from two to kick off the new league season. Byron Harrison was given a fitness test ahead of kick-off but passed with flying colours following a dead leg picked up at the weekend in the 2-1 win over Accrington Stanley.
Carlisle were struck with injuries and suspensions ahead of this game with key midfielder Alex Marrow missing out due to a red card in their 3-1 loss at Wycombe. Key players such as Troy Archibald-Henville and David Amoo were also absentees through injury.
The Robins had the chance to make it three wins from three games this evening with a best ever start to a Football League season on offer but they found it tough in the first half against a Carlisle side desperate for points.
Cheltenham did have a good chance come close four minutes into the game when Joe Hank's freekick whistled inches over the bar but the Cumbrians soon settled into their game and came close themselves eight minutes in with Brad Potts' edge of the area effort collected comfortably by Trevor Carson.
The best chance of the half came on 25 minutes though and it came from Jack Marriott, a striker Mark Yates himself had been chasing up until he signed with Carlisle. The striker's fiery effort brought about quick reflexes from Trevor Carson with the Northern Irish goalkeeper pushing it wide for Braham-Barrett to clear.
Lee Vaughan had an opportunity to fire off his own shot soon after stepping aside his marker, charging at goal and firing a firm but tame shot into the gloves of Mark Gillespie.
Efforts from Carlisle Brad Potts and Matt Richards offered further hope to either side but half-time soon came with no goals to show on the first floodlit match of the competitive season.
If the first half lacked opportunities then the second certainly provided a lot more entertainment although the Robins were playing with fire at times this evening.
The first real chance of the game came from the header of Carlisle's Dicker who brushed an effort just wide of Carson's goal from the corner but the goalkeeper was to be much busier later on.
A long ball from the Carlisle back line caught the Robins sleeping and Jack Marriott found himself through on goal with just the goakeeper to beat but Trevor Carson produced a wonderful stop to deny the on loan forward a debut goal.
A Joe Hanks freekick was glanced wide by Steve Elliott to offer Cheltenham with a rare effort on goal but still Carlisle continued to harry their opponents with the Robins support probably the most nervy on the night.
The appearance of Koby Arthur helped lift spirits but the young forward's first action of the game was to pick up a yellow card for more defensive work.
The Cumbrians had brought a gameplan and it was working perfectly but for a goal although it was Cheltenham who nearly caught the visitors napping minutes before the 90. Koby Arthur sailed towards goal with Byron Harrison providing support to his left but the youngster went alone and his low shot at goal was agonisingly close to hitting the back of the net.
Carlisle thought they had won the game in the final minutes of injury time when Billy Paynter stabbed home from close range despite Carson's best efforts but the the travelling fans were soon silenced as they saw the linesman's flag raised for offside.
Stalemate at Whaddon Road but a hard fought point all in all.